Can you spare 10 minutes? It may help your heart

I love Debra's new feature, Working in the Workouts. She makes squeezing exercise into an already busy routine look easy -- a few minutes of strength training here, a few yoga moves there, a walk a few times a week. Though it would be nice to commit to an hour long workout every day, for some people it's just not possible.

If lack of time is one of your best excuses for avoiding exercise, you might be interested in reading this: Researchers recently found that as little as 10 minutes of walking a day improved the cardiovascular health of sedentary women. Though current guidelines recommend a minimum of 30 minutes a day, just those 10 short minutes improved women's fitness level and peak oxygen consumption.

So even if you've been a certified couch potato for years, here's your chance to get out and do something for yourself. Open your door and walk in one direction for five minutes. Then turn around and come home. What could be easier? And once you've mastered 10 minutes, you may just feel like doing 30, or even 60, and pretty soon that couch won't look so good anymore.